Pre-release reviews

[löyly]

For Cave Quest 2:

I got a review copy of this game for the curator, but I can only publish a review on the store page when it's released (24 August), so I'm posting an early review here and linking to it in the curator so people can read more about the game already. I might edit the title and post pre-release reviews for other games in this thread later.

Note that as I played a month before release, the final version may be updated.


Cave Quest 2 looks like a pretty run-of-the-mill Hidden Object game, but it's actually a solid P&C match-3 puzzle adventure. I'm not familiar with the first Cave Quest, but didn't feel like that was a problem.

This game is easy on the eyes with some really nice backgrounds, though there are no animations for the NPCs and their expressions were sometimes weirdly inappropriate for their text (voiceover only in a few cutscenes). The story isn't mind-blowing, but it's entertaining enough and written or translated/proofread by someone who actually knows English.

The puzzles, the navigation, the overall feel were solid and engaging. There are good QOL options, and three difficulty levels for both the adventure part and the puzzles (can be chosen separately and adjusted mid-game). I chose normal difficulty for both parts and found them just the right amount of challenging mostly, though I had to use hints or randomly walk around to look for a way to advance the story a couple of times. There's easy access to a map with fast travel, an actually helpful hint system, a task list that I hope is still being worked on, and even a walkthrough hidden in a neat "Extras" section (in the options menu).

Match-3 puzzles are used to find your way to new places, to accomplish various tasks, and to fight demons in turn-based "combat" where you have to drain their energy until they kind of sink into the ground (or you lose and can try again or do something else first). I don't like combat, but I'm a sucker for leveling up and developing skills, which is hard to find elsewhere. I guess an abstract system like that is a compromise, and it's pretty much just a bit more visual than chess, so I guess the interesting store tag combination of "Turn-based Combat" - "Demons" - "Family Friendly" is valid...
There are also some hidden object elements integrated into the story, and an inventory where you sometimes need to combine items. The story is pretty linear and there are no dialogue options; you can often choose where to go first, and you can choose between different powers to acquire and advance for the match-3 pathfinding, battles etc. after gaining enough experience.

The one thing I found seriously annoying was the potion-brewing that got really repetitive after a few times. Other than that, this game had me surprisingly captivated for a few days.
(My play time is almost 40 hours, but I'm slow and I also think I left the game idle a few times. It's certainly not a single-session game in any case.)

Edit: I should also add that the game was absolutely stable and bug-free as far as I can tell, and ran out of the box with Steam Play for Linux.

[löyly]

Pitstop in Purgatory

I'm not a big fan of this kind of games/VNs, but this was a reasonably high quality one and much more entertaining than the description sounded to me. The writing was mostly pretty decent, with funny lines and the occasional gem. Visuals are generally pleasant though I still have no idea if The Guide is supposed to have a nose or where it is XD
The game has (very) partial voice over with good voice actors. All the QOL functions I'd expect from a VN, though I wish I could have turned off those "hm"s, sighs and sometimes inappropriate laughs that were randomly played for dialogue without voice over. There are some P&C-ish interactive elements that I shamelessly used the conveniently linked walkthrough for a few times.

The story is pretty dark, with some very unpleasant characters. One of the three routes has, let's say psychological time pressure towards the end. The love interests for your 20 year old character are technically centuries old, but thankfully the choice that reveals the most about what actually happened is the solo route.

Steam says it took me 2.6 hours to finish 2 out of 3 endings and 5/13 achievements.

[löyly]

I Am Future

Check out the demo that the devs said will be taken down after release!

This is an interesting one for sure. A "relaxing survival game"? My impression was yes, indeed, but mileages seem to vary, it's EA and subject to change, and I did have some frustrations.

I liked the art style and the chill music. I really enjoyed the setting and found the gameplay fun and engaging. I'd been itching for a game where you clean up, gather resources, build and develop something without playing a kid in a bright pastel world, and this one was very good at letting me do that.
Progression felt satisfying, too. It wasn't always clear to me what I needed to do to get further and I think players should get more pointers, but I'm assuming this will be straightened out during EA. Disassembling electronics and using tools had a great feel to it, though may not be nice for people with trouble holding down the mouse button.
I didn't even hate the inevitable fishing minigame (which isn't really necessary for food if you're careful, but it's required for progress). It's based on moderately quick reactions which I tend to suck at, but I only failed a few times when I was distracted.

I doubted I'd find a game with survival and combat-ish elements very cozy, but I never really felt threatened or stressed. You don't even have to kill the slime creatures if you can spare some crops, they disappear and leave weeds when the sun comes out and you can spray those with herbicide at your own leisure. I missed a few hitpoints now and then when I got too close to the "boss plants", but so far that whole system has been pretty harmless - which is definitely a plus for me.
Hunger was something to keep an eye on, but with how quickly vegetation respawns I just made frequent foraging rounds and didn't find it too bad.
HOWEVER.
I was talking to another reviewer who found the game overall fun but these aspects stressful, so your mileage may vary. I tend to be good at strategy games and was planning ahead for food, I didn't even try to get rid of all the weeds and leeches, and I let them accumulate vast amounts of slime in some places XD
The EA roadmap states that they want to introduce new enemies and apparently it's up to player feedback which direction the game is taking, so odds are there's going to be more combat-ish stuff.

As for the story and dialogues... The underlying plot might become mildly interesting. I have a distinct feeling that no woman has been anywhere near the script though - probably that mysterious feminine intuition...
I have no problem at all with playing a male character, but those gender stereotypes belong in the 1950's at best. The future in I am Future is a men's world where women are the exception, and so far they are drama queens and princesses that need to be saved by male heroes, plus the obligatory outlier who's comically aggressive instead.

The current state of the game is about what can be expected in EA, I guess. Nothing game-breaking in my playthrough, though I did have to downgrade to an old build after the game updated and then kept crashing (should be fixed by now?). I'd hope for a bit more guidance, more balancing, more accessible inventory space and less weeds and slime. Ideally they'd also answer the phone call by the 1950's who want their gender bs back. I would have expected a clearer message once I'd (apparently?) reached the temporary end of the main story, but in retrospect I guess it made sense.

I have to say though, I had a good time with this game for many hours - a lot more than my play time here indicates due to network issues.

[oldladygreybun]

Not quite sure where to post this, but this seems to be about EAs, so...
I've had Book of Travels on my Following list for some time now (after reading some pretty glowing comments from löyli in a thread somewhere). But it's taking its time in EA and the Updates are so long and detailed that they kind of swamp my activities feed, to the point I'm finding it mildly annoying.
Long way round to asking löyli or anyone else out there :
Is anyone else following this game and will post a head's up when it's ready or getting very close? Bc then I can delete it from my Following without fear of missing it if it's really good when they finally get around to finishing it.. THANKS!

[löyly]

Hehe, I just made this thread for games that I got review copies of before release (including EA release as some kind of release...), because reviews don't get published on the store page before release but I wanted to have something longer to link to from the curator. No need to worry about "clogging up the thread" though, I can link to individual comments anyway :)

I'm getting the Book of Travels news through various channels outside the activities feed, so I can let you know! I'm not so glowy about it any more though sadly, but we'll see where they'll take it...

[löyly]

The Collage Atlas

The drawings are impressive, and I really liked the music too. The text bits are kind and positive, perhaps a bit too much so for someone as jaded as me. There are some actually good rhymes though, which is rare and much appreciated.

Walking around that strange world felt meditative, except for some uncomfortable visual and sound effects. Separate sliders for music and effects are desperately needed, and preferably a better options menu (took me some time to figure out you could scroll down, which was required to confirm changes).
Players with a tendency to motion sickness and vertigo beware, there's even some sort of rollercoaster you have to get through.

The little gameplay I encountered wasn't intuitive for me, and there were no explanations apart from a few symbols. I gave up when apparently I had to kick some floaty lanterns, but I had no idea where or why. To the bright spots on those hills? Didn't seem possible. After trying around for a while and getting frustrated, I decided it wasn't worth it. This seems like a tiny indie game that wasn't really playtested, so maybe it'll be adjusted with some feedback.

Pretty nice and chill experience up to that point.

[löyly]

Season Spree

It's hard not to give a positive review to such a cute and wholesome game. It has a really polished feel to it, too, and pleasant chill music. I'm not a fan of lo-fi graphics, but found it nice enough to look at.
It is, however, entirely centered around moving back and forth (in only two directions) for fetch quests in a tiny world. You'll keep seeing the same four (?) strips of land and four (?) rivers and the same couple of NPC's who need or have an item. I played through two seasons and started the third before I found it too overwhelmingly repetitive.
It's not the kind of experience I'm personally looking for, but it may well be for other people and/or their young kids.

[löyly]

WYRMHALL: Brush and Banter

This game was actually on my wishlist! I probably wouldn't have bought it right away, so I was thrilled to get a review copy. As I predicted from the demo, the devs did a great job and delivered a very solid game.

It's often cute and very funny. I guess not everyone will be fond of internet slang in dialogues, but that's not the only element the comedy leans on. The soundtrack supports the vaguely medieval fantasy setting perfectly. A lot of great background art and characters. The "quirky NPCs" thing is done very well, they weren't kidding about that one.
I'm not an expert in cleaning games, but I found the mechanics pretty intuitive and quite satisfying. Doing a good job with the standard settings requires good colour (and contrast?) vision, but there's an accessibility setting that makes the "messy" spots blink. The tutorial encourages you to just hand back less than perfectly cleaned items when it stops being fun, which is cool.

Now a heads up that "cozy" comes with terms and conditions:
There are cut scenes with ominous plotting, in addition to generally creepy customers and the like.
There's a bunch of time-sensitive tasks where you quickly have to switch between tools, find and hit the right spots. You don't have to do it perfectly, but I WANTED to, but I also do very poorly under time pressure and so I got stressed.
Then there are tasks where you have to avoid touching or exposing certain areas, and I found some of them quite difficult. If you fail, you die and have to start over from the moment that customer arrives. I ended up refusing to touch the item again in one case, but that was frustrating too.
And then there are a few items that can just break and it isn't explained how you need to handle them. I tried so hard to clean that fucking bubble without breaking it. I even ALT+F4'd out and did the whole day again and it happened again, I had no idea why, and I felt so bad for that poor customer and her entire kingdom. I guess it was supposed to be funny? :(

Another heads up: There's no save between chapters/days. One playthrough has 7 of them and is expected to last 1-2 hours in total, though it took me closer to 3 with a bit of idling because I couldn't save.
You're supposed to replay to see more of the game, but honestly I was left a bit stressed and would rather play something that's fully cozy by my own standards. Note that I am VERY sensitive to such things, so your mileage may absolutely vary.

Otherwise, everything felt really smooth. No idea how they did that with a very small team and a total of 9 playtesters listed in the credits, but I don't think I hit a single bug.

It's a very good game, even if I wasn't quite the right audience for it after all.

[oldladygreybun]

Thanks for this detailed and helpful review (as always !)
I saw you were playing it and wondered how, since it's not released yet, but, of course, reviewers copy and pre-release, I should have guessed...

I loved the demo too, but feeling a bit "...hmm" at the timing stuff you've mentioned here, I'm such a clumsy, and even clumsier in timed stuff. Also, the lack of mid-level saves is a drawback Might give it a go anyway, I'm letting it stay on my wishlist as for now

[löyly]

I can definitely say it's NOT a game you'd want to 100% the achievements for, as I've seen that you like to do... There's actually one for perfectly cleaning the thing I rage quit lol. If I understand that correctly, you'd also have to play through everything 5 times to get all achievements, and I didn't see any QoL like skipping dialogues.

But if you're not that ambitious or perfectionist about it, and don't mind customers getting grumpy, you might enjoy it.

[oldladygreybun]

hahaha :-) no I don't go for 100% or perfectioning
there's nearly always some speed-related stuff that I just cannot manange and don't want to make myself miserable trying for either. I do like to play 'all' of a game though, exploring the nooks and crannies and such, and get a bit shirty if too much of the gameplay is locked away behind skill gates. But not replaying many times, no.
Hmm , but I do like to try to please all my customers, unless ethically no-go (I refused a whole customer storyline and quest in one potions game from earlier, bc they wanted to kill someone, Nope.) So I reckon I might be disappointed if I have to let people down....

[löyly]

Well, then there's at least a few shady customers with highly illegal artifacts and probably less than noble motives that you won't have to worry about pleasing XD
I can't remember a lot of time-sensitive tasks where you'd let nice people down. Two items that seemed extremely fickle though. One longer timed sequence where I had to give up going for 100% and just aimed for the stuff that was easiest to clean, and the reaction was actually positive. I was rather quick though - and stressed (: Tasks like that trigger the perfectionist in me for some reason, and it's not doing me good.

[löyly]

One other reviewer so far describing the game as super chill and claiming that "it won't stress you out"... I really wish people would stop being so sure about how others will experience things but yeah, mileages vary.
(And for the record, apparently you don't have to replay everything to see the different endings)

[löyly]

Nif Nif :)

Now THIS is a game I can whole-heartedly recommend for child-free adults like myself even though it's made for kids + parents. Can you look at that goofy piglet and tell me you don't want to let him journey through the forest, meet characters like a rabbit that's definitely not Morpheus ordered from Wish, eat vegetable soups, and clean goo off his friends?

I'm not very interested in card games of any kind, but I've been having a blast with this one. It's fresh and original, beautifully done, and just SO DANG CUTE I can't get over it.

I love it when games get creative and use "combat" systems for wholesome purposes. I love the detailed background art, the imaginative cards and mechanics, and of course Nif Nif in particular You can (and should, for progression) also play Cat, which spices things up with different cards (not just visually), a different personality, and different dialogues during events.

The game is divided into rounds (across the forest map) that let your character collect points and level up. Before starting a new round, you can switch character, hat and skins that can be unlocked, and later tend to your vegetables and make soup for bonuses. After 11 hours of playtime, I have yet to unlock a few in-game things, let alone achievements.

You can switch between accounts/slots for up to 3 players, which is obviously nice for families - or curious partners or roommates (:

The main thing I found lacking when playing pre-release was a better tutorial. I would have hoped for more story or interactions outside of those question mark places on the map too, or that we could at least click on the freshly cleaned creatures for a small reaction. It didn't take me much getting used to though. I do agree with the game description that it's approachable also for beginners.

It's also worth noting that several weeks before release, the "closed beta" that I got to play is already in much better shape than many "full" releases nowadays. The overall experience is impressively smooth.

Very much a "just one more round" kind of game for me! And the good/bad thing about playing it as an adult is that no one can stop me because it's way past my bed time (:

[oldladygreybun]

A piglet so cute it even won over the 'colour grinch' ?! , wow ;-)

[löyly]

The colours are acceptable ;) and the characters and backgrounds are really nicely drawn imo