Recent reviews by Twisted_Code

6.8/10.0 (recommendation: get it on sale)
my feelings about this so far are a little mixed. I gave it a tentative thumbs up at first, but as I explained in the comments on this review, I just can't recommend it, at least not in its current state. There is a lot of potential, but... well, let's just get to the list.
pros:

• the artwork is good/cute
  
• the story is "decent" and I would almost describe it as "charming". It's not really what I'm used in a game like this (not that I play many games like this in the first place), but I really liked the writer's perspective.
  
• some of the puzzles are well done, and they seem to integrate well with the core game mechanic on the whole.
  
• the core game mechanic was a very unique idea, and deserved to be utilized way more than it was.

cons:

• First of all, I'm physically handicapped and put a premium on control flexibility for any game I buy. I cannot use a physical keyboard (I work around this with voice recognition/transcription software and the Windows On-Screen Keyboard for most things), so the fact that even the game menus are keyboard-only is frankly infuriating. I can't use the virtual keyboard for full-screen apps, yet I had to navigate by keyboard to get to the option to disable full-screen. Relatedly (yet almost a separate bullet point on its own), the game does not draw the cursor when it is over the window, meaning I have to guess where I am in order to get to my virtual keyboard
  
• Next, and almost as frustrating, the store page says it's about 7 hours of gameplay. Even if we account for the slow pace at which I play (which honestly isn't that slow. I'm partway, probably most of the way, through chapter 2 and have only been playing 1.4 hours), it still ends up being WAY less playtime than I got out of Slime Rancher (for about 1/4 of the base price), or even compared to another game from this publisher (Humble also published Forager). I can't say for certain yet as I'm only partway through the game, but I feel like the price point is probably too high.
  
• Third, while I give a lot of credit to whoever did the art, I don't feel the same way about the story. , as I mentioned in the pros, it's decent, but I feel like it could've been better in a few places. Most notably, in the prologue: why would Carto have a Storm and Airship "piece" (that wasn't even a map!), and why would she combine them if she did? Just leave the storm unexplained, mysterious plot set ups are an acceptable trope!
  
• Lastly, as much as I like the map mechanic, the game's signature feature, the puzzles don't seem to be done right. A game design video I watched recently suggests that good puzzles have the following components: the mechanics, the catch, the revelation, and the assumption. The catch in this game should be obvious, right? Not being able to fit a piece where you want it to go... except thus far at least, that has played a very small role. The bigger challenge is often figuring out what a character wants you to do, and sometimes the dialogue is rather too cryptic ("change the flow of the river" in chapter 2, where I'm currently stuck, for instance)...

although I have refunded this game, I intend to pick it back up if it's ever in Humble Choice again (like it was when I first discovered it; I give it to a friend).

I should be saving up for SR2 but I couldn't stop myself from (with very poor accuracy) humming the "Ranch - Night" theme as I study. Since I was humming it anyway, it's a good soundtrack, and I was probably butchering it, I don't mind shelling out some $ to "own" (license) the track so I can listen to it properly. It's not going to buy me happiness but it'll get me a little closer LOL.

It takes a while to get the hang of the mechanics, but once you do, you'll have a blast with this chaotic little number.
as long as you have friends to play it with, I say give it a try.

despite having a lot of similarities (which is not necessarily a bad thing) to BTD4 and 5, this game stands well as a separate game. Among other things, they added a research tech tree (though you have to level up to earn points...), even more variety to monkey abilities, and a lot of UX/QoL improvements even over BTD5's already excellent interfaces.
The game's biggest flaw is that the progression system is clearly designed with addictive operant conditioning[cultureofgaming.com] in mind, as is typical with micro-transaction-funded games. Leveling, at least, happens slower the higher level you are, and level rewards are not nearly as high the second time you beat a level at the same difficulty. I think they balance it well in favor of fun (some of the renewable challenges are pulled from the community, and quite interesting), but it's still something to keep in mind. DEFINITELY don't bother paying just to continue a level attempt; if you're going to fail a level, just let it happen, then come back with a bunch of power ups next time. The level rewards aren't worth real $, even compared to other micro transactions present in this game.
It's a good game, but remember my rule of thumb with F2P: if you are playing a game but not having fun, you're playing the wrong game.

great game, but I'm probably going to have to download more ram™ to play it on my laptop. (it uses like 2 GB. I have 8 but need about 6 of that for essential things like the OS, Discord, and the program that enables me to play in spite of a disability)
general summary of the game:
prior to buying, my friends described it thusly, so I will simply restate it for now: it's basically "Factorio, ,but 3d, with passive enemies, optimizations, and exploration of realistic world landmarks"

it's a free (early access) game with a ton of potential.
my only gripe is its lack of accessibility with my extremely limiting handicap, but part of that's Unity's fault
everything else is completely positive and I'm not sure what to say!

could really use a wiki, but I know it's in early access for a reason. Also seriously needs control customization so that I can play comfortably. This is part of the reason I only have 0.2 hours played so far (the other reason being... college is a pain)
based on my experiences with the demos they released BEFORE early access (which wouldn't have been counted towards that 0.2 hours), it's still areally good for an early access game (I'm getting it clear cracktorio feels from this...but with Machine Learning & cat, so three times the potential), but it has a long way to go.
hey, someone remind me to update this after I've got like 10 or more hours in it, would you? If you're reading this review, that means you!

it's a physics simulator meets tabletop multiplayer environment. The hype is well-deserved and, as with all things Internet-based, this game (really more of a platform for hosting games) becomes all the more useful when the world is locked down. For instance, I used it to play board games with family I haven't been able to get face-to-face with since last March.

cute yet challenging, this game puts you in the role of colonizing a new planet by building and programming (don't worry, the scripting languages simple and visual) an army of robots to do everything for you. Yes, everything. In fact, if you find you have done something by hand more than 10 times, it's usually a sign you should build a robot to do it for you. Robots can even manage, upgrade, recharge, and to some extent, program other robots. It's one of those games.
It's also currently available via Humble Monthly, which is how I got it. This is marked as having been received for free because a friend shared his humble monthly bundle with me. I was not paid or otherwise compensated to write this.

I can see why this game got so fricking popular: it's a social deduction game IN SPACE! plus everyone's, you know, trying to find social games to play to make up for the "social distancing" deficit.
If you've ever played Mafia or Werewolf, this is the same sort of game, but with an additional real-time element where the killers have to actually run up and catch you, or you have to either finish your tasks or throw them out of the airlock first. Something like that. If you need example gameplay, check YouTube, because there's a ton of it.