Recent reviews by Rudey

What the ♥♥♥♥?

Have you ever played an exploration game? Yes? Have you really, though?

Have you played a game where exploring actually advances you through the game? A game where exploring is the main focus of it all, and not just some extra busywork that in the end did not make a difference to the player because exploration was tacked onto a game that did not really need it, and ultimately just ticked another box for the game to sell?

After you have played Outer Wilds, you will know that you only really have played one true exploration game.

I enjoyed the first Q.U.B.E back in 2012 so I had to play this. When comparing the sequel to the original, two things come to mind. The story of the sequel is much better than what they tacked onto the original game. However, the puzzles of the sequel feel even more one-dimensional than the puzzles in the original.

I wouldn't have recommended this game if it wasn't for the DLC puzzle packs. The first two puzzle packs both feature a big level with multiple smaller rooms containing puzzles, adding a bit of an open world feeling to the game. Both puzzle packs were really fun to play, I hope they'll add more.

This is the most fun free game I've played on Steam so far. I wouldn't have minded paying up to $5 for this, actually. It has really funny dialog, good gameplay and puzzles, and a bunch of fun achievements. Highly recommended for anyone who ever played a first person puzzle game and enjoyed it, you will definitely enjoy this too!

I somewhat disliked Portal Stories: Mel (another Portal mod) for being too hand-holding. Rexaura doesn't hold your hands and features much more difficult puzzles.

Most (if not all) puzzles in Rexaura feature high energy pellets. In my opinion, high energy pellets are the worst puzzle element of Portal. Luckily, Rexaura introduces a bunch of new puzzle elements and improvements that give the pellets more purpose and make them tolerable.

One of Rexaura's achievements requires you to pay attention to a guide if you don't want to do a second playthrough. This is annoying because you either spoil the fun by using a guide, or get punished for not using a guide by making you do a second playthrough.

Despite of these points, I'm still recommending this game to anyone who loves Portal and doesn't mind a more difficult challenge.

I usually don't play bridge building games. I only played this because I love Portal. I didn't expect much Portal lore and didn't get much lore out of it, but that's not why I'm recommending against this game.

There is zero incentive to build clean or optimized bridges. If your bridge is unstable, just add more ropes and supports until it stops collapsing. It doesn't matter if you're adding over a million "$" in ropes and supports to your structures, as there is no maximum budget or target budget in the game.

You can't test your builds with multiple cars (convoy) driving over them until you complete the level with just one car driving over your bridges. You're forced to build across the entire level and make it work for just one car, without knowing if anything that you're building actually works for the convoy. Then when you "beat" the level with one car, you'll sometimes have to make drastic changes that you wish you were able to see coming beforehand.

Placing Portals in the editor (in DLC levels) is clunky IMO. I kept accidentally deleting Portals or moving the scaffolding/joints when I wanted to move a Portal. The editor doesn't show when a Portal is misplaced until you try to do a test drive. It will then prompt you to move your incorrectly placed Portals, but you can't move them at this time, you have to go back into build mode. Maybe it's just me but I found it very annoying to work with.

Rewinding time in a "Choices Matter" game is really neat. It allows you to experience most of the dialog the game has to offer in one playthrough, if that's the playstyle you prefer. At times it almost feels like cheating to rewind time to improve the outcome of your choices. However, the game's amazing story does a very good job of making you second-guess every choice you make, even if the choice seems obvious at first. At times I felt bad about the immediate outcome of my choices and rewinding time to change my choice allowed me to play the game how I wanted to play it.

I bought the complete season at once, I can't imagine buying episodes separately. Regardless, having the game split up into 5 episodes came in very handy. I didn't have the time to play the entire game in one session. I ended up splitting it into 4 sessions, one episode at a time and played the final two episodes back-to-back (I needed to know how it ended after episode 4). Each episode ends on a cliffhanger which is both good and bad, it will leave you wanting for more and ensures you will come back to play. I also really appreciate the "previously on Life is Strange" montage that plays at the start of episode 2 and every episode after.

I highly recommend giving this game a try to anyone. Even if you've never played "Choices Matter" or story-heavy games, you can't miss out on this one.

After being disappointed by the sequel(-ish), "Cadence of Hyrule – Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring The Legend of Zelda", I have come to appreciate the original Crypt of the NecroDancer much more. It's genius, really. Turn-based movement but you have to move to the beat? Why didn't I think of this? The replay value of this game is off the charts, and there is enough challenge to last you many, many hours. The items and shops are well designed, often putting you into "high risk, high reward" scenarios. All the characters have unique (dis)abilities, too.

100% recommended!

I never played a farming game before playing Stardew Valley, but I had such a good time with this game that I'm occasionally looking for the next farming game to take over my spare time. I generally don't like playing RPGs, but the RPG aspects of this game aren't a big part of the overall gameplay - it's much more about planning your farm days for maximum profits!

This weird little indie game is legitimately one of the most fun games I've ever played. The achievements are relatively easy to unlock, one of them requires you to idle the game for over 10 hours though.