Recent reviews by Ryhze

Another brilliant release from Harvester Games. Definitely my second favorite after The Cat Lady.. though I haven't played Lorelei yet. I absolutely love The Cat Lady and Downfall, so I have high expectation for it, and I'd say, they manage to surpass my expectation. If not for my very personal attachment to The Cat Lady, I'd say this is probably their best game so far. So, let's get into the details, shall we?


First thing first, art and graphic. Absolutely stunning, the experience and production value really shows here. Everything just looks polished and beautiful. The contrast between the mundane farm, the dark foggy forest, the decrepit dungeon, and pf course the otherworldly, strange and bizarre Burnhouse Lane. I really like it when the game seamlessly transition between the mundane to the dream-like location, I wish they do more of them, rather than "You fell unconscious and you wake up in a weird-ass location", but its not a big deal. It has great visual clarity to subtly guide the player through the environment, telling a story about what happened to the place along the way. But.. it also comes with their own downsides, and the biggest one is that sometimes it looks too polished for its own good. The supposedly abandoned apartment complex and dungeons don't feel "ruiny and dusty" enough, some disturbing and horrific sights would have had more impact if they look a little more rough, just like the older titles, sometimes the game have too much visual clarity that I feel like I've never felt truly lost, though it might be a good thing for some people, and it shows great understanding of art direction, but you know.. I just like it to be less "handholdy".

Sound, voice acting and music are also top notch. Harvester Games always have great soundtrack and sound design. Ambient, eerie, and atmospheric most of the time, but it will turn super tense and nerve wrecking at some big moments. I'm not really an audio guy, but yeah.. I really love what I hear, just like their previous games, it truly enhances the experience. And there is one section where you have to pay attention to the voice in order to survive, and man that was terrifying! And honestly, I wish they have more of that kind of gameplay section, but alas.. it is so short and never utilized again. Voice acting, for me is greatly improved at least from Downfall, all voice acting are equally great, some fantastic, but none are cringey, bad, or just doesn't fit, but the "uneven" voice acting in the older titles is actually kinda charming.

Gameplay and puzzle is a hit and miss. They try to make the game more.. "game-like", adding more interactivity, a (half-baked) combat, more platforming section, more interesting puzzles. I.. can commend that, but sometimes they can be frustrating, especially the combat and the platforming, they are a breath of fresh air and adds variety to the game, yes. But most of the time, they overstay their welcome. As for the puzzles, I like them, not too insultingly easy but it doesn't make my head hurts, both when I'm doing it or after the puzzle simply because how bizarre the solution is, you know.. the classic adventure games.. "click everything until I somehow click that one seemingly irrelevant item" solutions.. Burnhouse Lane managed to avoid them by just being puzzles that require logic and reading comprehension.


Story and characters next, or the main reason why I play these games in the first place. Okay, first thing first, lets go for the negatives, because there's not many of them, but they, for me are quite crucial as to why Burnhouse Lane can't quite reach the height of The Cat Lady. First problem, sometimes the message and moral are a bit too in your face, preachy even, especially towards the endgame. Second, the premise, theme and some story beats feels a little rehashed from The Cat Lady, it is.. not necessarily a bad thing, if it ain't broke, don't fix it, right? Besides, the writing, both the plot and characters are as strong as ever, and don't get me wrong, it is still a fresh experience, BUT I wish they do more to differentiate the themes, story and premise between those two, just like Downfall.

But, the overall writing is as great as ever, full of disturbing and downright vile stuffs presented tastefully in both writing in visual, there are a some moments, story beats, that just makes my stomach turn.. but it never felt edgy, forced, or glorified. "Disturbing for the sake of it", Harvester Games knows how to disturbs you enough to make your skin crawls, but it knows when to stop, take a step back before it gets edgy and distasteful, and they still maintain that quality in Burnhouse Lane. It goes dark, very dark, but it knows when to have some fun, it is full of despair but it is balanced by hopeful moments and messages, hatred but also unconditional love. I think, that's what separates me great "dark and disturbing story" and a bad one. Also, the casts are full of endearing characters, the highlight being old man George, the absolute champ, and Ciaran the lovable fool. Though, I don't feel too connected with the protagonist herself, unlike the previous protagonists, maybe I'm just a different person in a different circumstances, so I don't feel as connected with the protagonist this time around.. but I think its more than that.. I feel like, Angie is just less fleshed out than Susan, I wished they delve more into her personal life other than her cancer.. don't get me wrong, its heartbreaking seeing her body slowly deteriorates because of the cancer, but.. there is more interesting things going on in her life that if explored deeper, would make her an exceptional character, and make Burnhhouse Lane reach a higher emotional heights.


Burnhouse Lane is another stellar game from Havester Games, with much improved audio-visual quality, it truly bring the strange, dream-like and disturbing story and world it wants to tell, too good even that it faces the same problem of many modern horror games. When a horror game is too polished graphically, it loses the roughness that a horror media should have, though I don't say it needs to have a bad graphic, it just need a "healthy" balance. The story while very strong and undoubtedly fantastic, feels a bit rehashed at times, and this time around the side characters are more interesting than the main character. It manages to surpass my high expectation but it doesn't quite reach the same height as what I think their one true masterpiece "The Cat Lady" but that's alright.

The PC version of Vainglory is surprisingly good, in term of performance and stability. I encounter little performance issue, and with the minor patches, this game runs smooth as butter. Yes, the loading time can be so inconsistent, sometimes it loads in an instant, and at other times I can make a cup of coffee and it still won't load. But, other than that, in the performance side of things its a good port, could be better, sure.

Okay, for this part, just to make it clear, I'm fully aware that VG is originally a mobile game, so the design choices makes sense for a mobile devices, but it is technically a PC game in this platform, so I'm viewing it with a PC gaming perspective, so that it'll hopefully be improved in the future and makes the experience better, and more intuitive overall, because I gotta admit, as great and enjoyable the actual gameplay is, the UI feels very mobile-ish, and feels weird to look at and navigate.

So, for the UI... Most of it feels off, Mostly the scaling. The Bag and Social menu in particular needs a redesign, it looks ugly, and takes so much screen space, it takes forever to scroll (I know you can just click on the alphabet but still), and the Talent and Skin menu is kinda useless, since you can see them in Heroes page. In comparison to DotA, VG menu feels archaic. OK, OK, I know, DotA has existed far longer than VG, AND DotA 2 is made with PC players in mind, and PC only, unlike VG, that I can totally understand, but what I'm getting at is for the devs to take a note or two, if they want to redesign or just making adjustments to the Bag and Social menu to make the UI more PC friendly.

As for the in match UI, Firstly the scaling is off, especially the bottom UI (or I'd say "main" UI). The recall buttond be put beside the Scout or Flask button with a nice icon, the skill info button is not necessary since it just can be done by hovering the mouse over the ability and right click (or left depending the chosen scheme) to view more info of that chosen skill. Also, when I open to see the skill and shop, The skill and shop menu covers almost all the screen, obscuring the view. Also, it'd be nice to have an option to remove some UI elements like the shop, scoreboard, camera lock, and zoom icon, because its can be done with Mouse and Keyboard, and there are many times when I accidentally press those buttons in the heat of battle, which I very rarely do in other MOBAs, and it shouldn't happen so frequently if the interface is cleaner.

Talking about shops and items, the ability to have your own build page and/or editing the available builds would be a really really nice addition, also make the item / item tree viewable outside the match. That'll help a lot. And as for bugs, there is a 2000 ms bug, its just visual though, I encounter no issue once in match. It also really need custom keybinding and graphic options.

To end it in a positive note, the gameplay is very fun and solid, great hero design and beautiful skins and splash arts, fair and reasonable F2P monetization, easy to pick up and play because matches lasts around 18 to 25 mins, while other PC MOBA lasts for 45+ mins. While 18 - 25 mins is the standard of mobile MOBA, its rare on PC, and with adjustments here and there, I can see Vainglory taking a unique spot in the PC market, and I do hope so.

If there is one word to sum up Gunmetal Arcadia in one word, that'll be "pleasant". It's both pleasant to look at and to play. And approaching it with a "just another NES/SNES throwback game" it also is a pleasant surprise that Gunmetal Arcadia is much better than what I thought ti will be, "just another retro entry".

Gunmetal Arcadia, is a 2017 action-adventure platformer rogue-like game. Think of it as Zelda II with elements from titles like FTL and Binding of Isaac, take what's make those games fun to play in the first place, combine it with spot on visual and sound direction, and then you have an all around solid entry of throwback NES game.


I never start my review of a game discussing the sound, but I have to for this one, because for me the soundtrack is the one that hook me first instantly when I start this game up. Upon hearing the retro 8 bit menu soundtrack, I feel nostalgic. It's so catchy and melodic, so infectious and it will most likely stuck inside your head. It applies to all level soundtracks. Gunmetal Arcadia strikes a really sweet balance between the 8-bit simplicity and the complex and layered feel of modern game soundtrack. Fun and hype is written all over it, even the slower tracks. The sound direction itself overall is pretty great and convey the retro feeling pretty well.


There are a lot of modern retro game published out there and only a few that can capture it really well, and Gunmetal Arcadia is one of those few. Just like music that accompanies it, the title screen and its presentation are the things that gives me a strong first impression that continues onward. Gunmetal Arcadia has a strong retro art style with a smoother touch to give it a more modern feel that adapts well with modern screen. Honestly, as awesome as these retro classics are, most of them don't translate well to my monitor, without some calibration, I can't play it more than 10 minutes. It's not the case with Arcadia. it looks perfectly great as it is. Every chapter has its own, certain feel to it, though most of them lack some kind of personality and definite diversity to it, that might be tied up with the randomly generated world that I'll touch later on. Effects and sprites work are, while not the best , they're well done, with good variation and they're also nicely animated.


The premise is simple, it's your good old fun and simple action-platformer game with added depth from the rogue-like elements. Gunmetal Arcadia takes those simple NES games and give it a new spin to keep things interesting. Like the typical rogue-like, the difficulty, even in the first level can be off putting for some people, though I think Gunmetal Arcadia is the easier one of the bunch. Arcadia is less grindy, and more about seamlessly traverse from one level to another, keeping the fast and fun spirit of the classic platformers. Destroying enemies and some environments, do some exploration to find treasures in hopes of getting some good loot or simply more gold to buy equipment really adds to the replay value. You can feel the difference of various stat booster and weapons, dare I say most of them are rather game changing at it's nature.

One of the most interesting feature in this game is the Legacy system which is a system where you'll be granted an initial stat booster that could help you advances through the game. What's the interesting part in this? It's the joy of discovering how trigger these events to gain it and sway it to your advantage. Weapons and stat boosters are varied and they have a very straightforward description. to keep in tow with its "fun, fast, and simple" premise.

Enemies, and most especially bosses, are varied and each of them has an attack pattern for the player to learn and deal with it accordingly. It's something to be expected and a bare minimum of both a good platformer and rogue like, and I must say, while its nothing spectacular, Arcadia delivers, it delivers it really well.

Gunmetal Arcadia also has a surprisingly good amount of customizable things in Option like a customizable CRT mode, and display customization. There's also a controller support with a comfortable and familiar default key bindings.

For most of the time, the randomly generated world works on Arcadia's favor. It keeps the game fresh, challenging, and unpredictable with definite predictability, though just like the vast majority of games that use a procedurally generated level, sometimes there are platform and ladders that goes to nowhere, an item shop behind a treasure room that is behind a healing inn, and stuffs like that, it doesn't occur often, but it grinds my gear when it does. The biggest downside of this system however is the lack of level design, resulting to somewhat bland background, and overall level that lacks personality. The other one is the random placement of enemis can result to some scenarios when it's almost impossible to cross an area without getting hit.

A more minor problem is about the different characters that you can select. They're not that different both in design, playstyle, and the stat differences are not too meaningful. I'd really like to see a more striking difference between those 5, maybe like inital weapon, speed, damage. jump height, etc.


Gunmetal Arcadia is one of the better and more unique retro styled game. Combining the fast and fun pacing of old platformer with depth of a rogue like, you'll find quite a good challenge in this title. It's easier than a rogue like and harder compared to most platformers, though its largely due to the random generated world, at some run you can only hope that the system gives you a good level layout. It captures the retro feel, especially its hype and fun music and its art direction really well, but it lacks the personality presents for each level, because of its random nature, thus lacking a unique and intricate hand-crafted level design. Gunmetal Arcadia both delivers as a platformer and a rogue like, but it doesn't goes beyond that, again, except for the vibes.

For a $9.99 game, you'll get a well made modern-retro game with a good amount a replay value, and it can be addicting if you're into rogue-like / rogue-lite. It needs some polishing here and there, sure, like the bland background and probably adding some more parameters to prevent a few nasty effects of procedural level generating to occur, but other than, playing this game is quite a blast.

Where do I start with this game? After spending around 25 to 30 hours, or perhaps even more (can't tell since I played it on offline mode), searching every corner for quests, reading all bit and pieces of informations and lore about the DX universe, and finally reached the end... I can't really articulate how I feel with the latest installment of this series. Was it Fascination? Excitement? Disappointment? Disbelief? It's all of these things.

Deus Ex: Content Divided is a fine example of such an ambitious and truly excellent project made by talented and passionate devs has to be brought down by a load of publisher's meddling, chopping the fine game into pieces to squeeze as much money as possible. I don't blame Eidos Montreal for this, that all solely lies to Square Enix. So, keep in mind that this review is for the game at it's current (mutilated) state, not what this game could've been.


First, let's talk about the positives. Or perhaps, if you already played Human Revolution (and you definitely should), what does MD improves upon HR? And that's the gameplay and level design. It looks like Eidos Montreal really listen to user feedback and massively improves those area, especially the latter. MD is simply a bigger, bolder, and more refined game than HR, created by devs that is more confident and experienced than before. I can see they put a lot of effort to make the levels more open for possibilites to any kind of character builld. Bigger places, more vents to lurk, more "secret areas" to discover, more things to hack, and all around exploring the mission and hub area is way more fun and rewarding than HR.

Prague, is the one and only Hub in this area, yes.. One. I'll come back to it later on, since I'm going to touch the good things first. Well, Prague is way more alive than Detroit. it's bigger, and it has more content, more intricate level design, and a real treat for the eye, day and night. And that brings me to side quests, another big improvement over HR, they are more varied, interesting (both gameplay and story wise), and feels grander in scale. I found the plot and characters in some of the side quests are more interesting than the main storyline.

As for the graphic, it's simply amazing! Prague is filled with these tiny details that really improve the atmosphere and visual narrative. I'll spend two paragraphs just to describe how impressive the graphic is. So, to cut it short: It's a real neat blend of impressive graphic and amazing level design, not too empty yet never overbearing.Though the animation and lip syncing could be better.

Also, top notch sounds, soundtracks, and especially voice actings. As expected.. In exception of the weapon sounds that is.



Deus Ex is always about its world, and the story about every individual involved with it. While I think the side quests are a major step up from HR, I can't say the same with the main storyline. The pacing is quite inconsistent, it starts out great, it got boring in the middle, before it goes back on track just to be abruptly cut out in the end. I find most of the main characters in MD are uninteresting, or maybe not yet at this point. Adam Jensen in particular has a weaker characterization in MD. I know it's hard to balance out a character with RPG in mind while giving the character its own motivation. HR did it better because Adam has his personal thrive to do what he does, and he does undergone a character development. In MD however his development stuck, and his motivation is generic.

And now, let's get back to the Hub thing. Yes, it's true. Prague is MUCH better than every hub in HR. But, it lacks variety. Major theme on Deus Ex is a "world travel", seeing different part of the world and their culture and vibes in its universe. Prague, while divided into several smaller hubs lacks diversity, understandably so. Deus Ex is about chasing the roots of conspiracy throughout the world, but in MD? The plotline may suggest a much bigger stuff going on but it feels so tiny in practice. And as for the side quests, it might be better than HR individually, but as a collective, it feels.. empty? Hollow? There are surely many side quests and main quests that is cut out from this game, quest like "Desperate Measure" come to mind. It fits right in with the story, and the fact that its seperated is beyond my comprehension.

Gameplay, while greatly refined, feels unbalanced toward the end. During the last visit to Prague, Adam is already way too OP, at least for me, I can just breeze through most of the levels, and I feel like its due to the quick "rebalancing"to fit in with the length of the game. The mediocre A.I didn't help at all, they're quite easy to exploit.


In the end, DX: Mankind Divided is a game that screams potential from beginning to end. Not that it doesn't has that, but it has been cut to the point it greatly devalue what could have been a strong story and more world building elements that will eventually lead up to the legendary first Deus Ex. Looking back, I'm impressed on how many lore they estabilished on what little content left I found the story elements that includes many names that will be a major character in the first Deus Ex to be the most interesting and intriguing part of the game.And for the content they offer, I can assure you that the majority of it are in high quality. It's a polished game with a much refined level design and gameplay, brought down by shameless money grabbing scheme. It's clear that Eidos Montreal really respect the DX universe, and gains more confident due to the success of HR, but Square Enix in the other hand has no love for art and integrity. I get this for free from my AMD card purchase, and even then it can't mask my disappointment.And yes, I highly recommend it, ONLY at, at least 60% sale, because that's exactly what you get from this. A 1/3 of a full game.

"What a shame..."

Gothic 3 is a 2006 open world action RPG game developed by Piranha Bytes, more known with their more recent series, Risen, is an (understadably) overlooked, underappreciated RPG gem,

First thing first, I want to clear up some things:

1) I'm using the Community Patch 1.75 mod, also known as the "Enhanced Edition", without it, it's a definite thumbs down, it's a buggy, unplayable mess. A pure trainwreck.

2) I've never played Gothic 1 & 2, which I heard is better than Gothic 3 + the latest patch. Better story, mechanic, especially Gothic 2, I'd definitely love to play G2 some day.

3) I've played 30 hours or so, Steam doesn't detect my custom launcher.

With that said, let's get straight to the review.


Gothic 3 is a game that achieves the immersion through its grounded, and "realistic" world. You are a random nobody, and the game, its world, its people, its entire mechanic treat you like such. You are not a "chosen one" or a "child of prophecy", you don't have any special power that grants you an immediate advantage to other people, just a guy passing by, doing whatever he could to survive. If you are expecting a power fantasy where you could bulldoze everything in front of you, you should back off. You need to project yourself into the game. Like when you see a pack of wolf, and you are in low level, with low grade equipments, you'll extremely likely to be killed off right away, even in higher level with better equipment, they're still rather intimidating.

As for the combat. It works, for the most part. Let's stick to the positive part first. It term of mechanic it flows smoothly. The combat is much slower than other action RPGs. It's not only about who has the best equipment, it's more on how you make every block, movement, and attacks counts, mix and match the weapon and armor in order to suit your playstyle, and learning their advantages and disadvantages.

Gothic 3 have an interesting quest system. All the quests are already active from the very start, but it's just remain hidden until you know it. Finest early example is the quest where you have to kill a pack of wolf near the first town. You can kill them first without knowing that its a quest, go to the quest giver, and he'll be pleased that you already kill it when he ask you about it. And if you not then, you'll be given that quest, and it appeared in your journal, and there is no quest marker or anything. You are just told that there is a pack of wolf somewhere outside of the town and it's your job to find them, it applies to all quest,


The combat and quest mechanic that I mention above is a bold statement that the world of Gothic is filled with dangerous creatures and sillful warriors, and you're not a special snowflake, and for me that is Gothic's biggest strength, "show, don't tell". Aside of that there are these little details, that while individually seems insignificant but when it combines, it contributes a lot to my fascination of this game like the no respawn mechanic, everyone/thing stays dead, you (and enemies) can choosee to kill or spare the enemies, guards don't like seeing you in a fighting stance and a house owner will watch you if they notice you entering their house, and yes, you can enter any house given that you have the key and skills, without a single loading screen!

One aspect that I want to touch here is the enemy level scaling system. The system that Gothic 3 use isn't special or anything, but its some kind of a lost design choice when it comes to action RPG especially AAA ones, and that is enemy that didn't scalle along with your level. It might seem like a tiny thing, but it actually helps with the enviromental storytelling, you feel the tension and danger when you come to a high level area, you can't get an ultra-awesome anceint weapon early on, you have to work hard for it, it's a high risk high reward system. A perfect balance between freedom and subtle storytelling.

Because of the things that I mention above: Enemies don't respawn, you need to go to a trainer to level up (at least that's one way to do it) and that really makes you to really plan out your character build because you won't be a level 80 OP hybrid mage-swordsman-thief character at the end of the game. The skill system is built around realism, there is no skill that grants you an obvious superhuman abilities, it only makes you better at what you are doing.


The land of Myrtana is a colorful, vibrant, calming, albeit a bit generic medieval fantasy landscape, contrasting a dark storyline within it. Gothic 3's story is more grounded and "believable", its about a revolution of humans against the conquering orcs, and Gothic 3 is more focused on learning the politc, view and lore of each factions. The contrasting visual works beautifully with the context of the story, balancing the dark nature of the story and the calming and breathtaking long trips in between, and also it did a fine job to cover its otherwise average at best textures and models.

Myrtana is divided into 3 different regions: The plains, desert, and snowy area, with their own unique creatures, "cultures", and architectures, making it much more than a change of landscape. There is no fast travel, or at least it is really well hidden, so you have to travel for minutes to hours even, if you want to travel to a major city, but man was it doesn't bore me at all, accompanied with awesome soundtracks, ambient tracks, and beautiful landscape, also a lively land where lore and quests awaits you if you want to explore.

Talking about the soundtrack, it''s a 2 hours of worth of amazing soundtracks. Every major place and event has its own soundtracks that really help to strengthen the overall feeling, coupled with a really nice ambient sounds.
And for the story, you can choose to side with the orcs, rebels, minor factions, independent, or work for everyone, each with their own distinct questline, and lead to different events and conclusions, with their own advantages and disadvantages, and it's always interesting to see each of their views and ideas, and that's a sign of well made RPG, I'll leave it at that.


Even with the patch, that basically salvage a trainwreck, make it fully functional, and giving it fresh coat of paint. It's still not all sunshine and rainbows. Some of it is due to design flaws, terrible production value, and well.. the patch, as great as it might be can't hide the fact that it's an unfinished and unpolished game.

Below average models and textures, bad to mediocre voice acting, somewhat "rigid" animation, below average dialogue translation, and an underwhelming sound and visual effects. The voice acting and dialogue, when combined together can create a laughably bad moments, that really hurts the otherwise great storoyline. Sound and visual effect doesn't pack enough punch when it hits the enemy, sometimes I feel like that I'm swinging a toy sword.

Some gameplay mechanic that I found kinda irritating is that you can't pick up enemy's armor, even if they are humans, and that you, at times is given too little information on what you should do on a given quest. Also, I'd love to see more variety of weapons and armors.


Gothic 3 is a really great game if you have a keen eyes of the little things, if you interested to the details, and have the patience to discover it, and even greater patience to go through the obivously low production value and the cracks it shows even with the patch. It's no power fantasy, and so don't expect it to holds your hand, at the same time, it's a highly rewarding game, there is no better feeling of overcoming a seemingly impossible battle and turn the tide. Gothic 3 is all about a high stake high reward exploration, discovery, choice, and consequences. And when I look at it, it is, in a way, is a game ahead of its time.

It's hard to put my words regarding this title because of the high artistic nature of this game. It can be said to a lot of point and click games. Karma is less of a game, and more of an expereince, a surreal, psychedelic experience, certainly a unique and unforgettable one IF you can apprecaite it. Yup, a big "if" right there. Point and click is a niche genre, always has been, and even more so today. It's a genre of hit and miss, especially for a game that takes a more artistic path like Karma. So, the big question is, is it the point and click game that right up your alley?


First, let's talk about the strongest aspect of Karma, and that is it's art and concept. And it is gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous. It's vibrant and bold, every splash of colors are implemented with a great deal of thought, and how can I say this? It's hard to do such thing, creating a psychedelic-esque universe with bright, vibramt, and even contrasting colors without giving you an eyesore and headache after 5 minutes into a game. In Karma, it just works, it works perfectly.

From the reddish/orange-ish that depict the strange-ness of the area, where the players first introduced to the game make the rather "normal" tribal cave looks 5x more alien than it is, then moving on to the purple shaded area, that echoes joy and happiness, to the ice-cold and isolated area, and the green "industrial" area. It's something to be expected in a point and click games, giving each area a distinct feel and look, something that has been a standard of a good point and cliick games, and that's playing with color to evoke a certain tone, mood, and atmosphere. Karma take a bold move by using a vibrant and strong colors, while most use a more subtle approach.

Karma's characters itself are some... things.. that come straight out of your deepest nightmare yet somehow managed to be so cute and adobrale, it's almost like something that Tim Burton would create, so strange, unconventional, but "attractive" at the same time. As bizzare as the character looks, it has a strong aura of innocence, which fits perfectly with the overall art.


The story itself is pretty simple, you are a spirit whose beloved pink spirit is abducted by an evli spirit, and to defeat the evil spirit, he must reincarnate to a dragon, but instead he turned into a worm named Pip.

Karma's dialogue is told by an alien, incomprehensible language, and thus heavily relies on various speech bubbles that shows various icons and animations, and that won't work without a fluid, expressive animation, and by presenting the right visual cues. And that's what Karma excel. These elements is what carry Karma's gameplay and storytelling. The supppsedly kind of cliched, boring story is greatly elevated by it's astounding viusal narrative. Cute things expressing themselves with cute speech bubbles.

The gameplay itself is more simple than your typical point and click, it feels like most of the puzzles are there for the sake of making the game feels more..gamey. While the puzzle itself falls into typical point and click tropes, they are a bunch of puzzles that ranges from pretty straightforward to absolutely absurd, But the fact that Karma is entirely on 2D, made the puzzles overall easier, since you have far less dimensions to click around and the world of Karma is in a tight and rather confined space. Sometimes, I just click around the various interactive objects, hoping something funny will happen, and it works at times!

As the name suggest, the gameplay mechanic that differentiate it from another point and click games is the karma system. In some occassions, you are given two options to deal with a problem, that's a good and evil deed. You'll grow spikes if you do evil deed, and that affect the story and how other creatures treats you. That gives the game an additional replay value. The other one is astral sight, where, in a push of a button, everything around you become more surreal with all these funky colors and you'll be able to see whatever it is on the astral world, and interact with it. Unfortunately, it's under utilized.

As for the sound, I can't say much. The soundtrack, as the rest of the game is just strange but still really great to listen to, and the tribal feel to it fits welll. The characters' voices are funny, and the sound effects are well made. Just like the other aspects of the game, it fits perfectly well and adds even more to the whole strange yet charming atmosphere.


Karma inhabit the recipe that makes a great point and click games..well.. great, and also carry the same mistakes as the ones it borrows from. First, the more abstract puzzles, my biggest gripe with the vast majority of point and click, it feels like it's just a common rule for these type of games to include the kind of puzzle that made me want to tear my hair off, but thanks to the small 2D space, Karma managed to significantly lessen the frustration, to the point where it's actually quite easy, is it bad? Well, to an extent, not really, Karma, by itself is aimed to be a more casual point and click and it did it.

Second, is the story and character. As I said before, the story itself won't be that noteworthy if it's not because of the setting, art, concept, and how they convey it. And while, it ended in a good note, compared to other episodic point and click, they kinda failed to convince me that something grander is going on, though they do piqued my interest for the next installment. Finally, the weakest part is the side characters, due to the length of this game, to the design choices, it's hard to know, or pinpoint the characters, who they are,what their role is, their characterization, and so on. They feel like a bunch of creatures that Pip happened to pass by.And I hope this will be adressed in the next game.


Karma, Incarnation is not a game for everyone, it's a niche game within a niche genre. It's a beautiful, bizzare, and unforgettable experience if you can appreciate the game as what it is. It's biggest strength is certainly the bold and vibrant visual, unique character design, and it's smooth flow both in story and animation. For a point and click game, its puzzles' difficulty is on the lower spectrum, mostly for the better.And it succeed on making a compelling story out of an otherwise generic plot. All in all, Karma, Incarnation is a game that is more interested in the "Experience" aspect on "Gaming experience", it's gorgeous,calming, and funny, and for the asking price, it's totally worth it.

Meridian: Squad 22 is a 2016 Action RTS game developed by Elder Games. It’s hard to put my feelings for this game into words, because there’s a lot to talk about this game, yet really so few in the same time. It could’ve been a much better game, but a myriad of not-so-good design choices forces this fantastic looking game to stay on the realm of “slightly above average”. And before I go any further, I should mention that this game is a one-man project, and that’s an amazing achievement. The dev talent and effort is something that is truly praiseworthy. But a game should be viewed on its current state and value, so the big question is “Is it worth it”? Well, I’ll let you decide.


The first thing that caught my eyes is how beautiful this game looks. It looks sharp, vibrant, and crisp. Combined with pleasing color palette, amazing, bright and sparkly effects. And great level and unit design, It gives me a Starcraft and Red Alert 3 feel, especially the latter, “realistic” and imaginative, is the best words to sum it up. The unit designs can feel like it’s just a color change at times, but the level design is varied and detailed, and it keeps the mission fresh and interesting.

The other great thing in this game is the soundtrack and overall sound design. It is just so awesome! It sounds epic and dramatic, and has a lot of hype on it, and has some standout personality in it. And the sound design give me a strong C&C3: Tiberium Wars feels, especially the voice acting.

The last thing is the story, it’s well paced and reasonable. It doesn’t drag, and feels more believable than any other RTS. Some problems I found in many RTS are the inconsistent pacing, over the top characters, and unnecessary filler missions. None are found here, or at least not as ridiculous as most. I won’t say the story is mind blowing or something like that, not at all, but enough to keep me going,

Other part to note is the technical side, which is surprisingly pretty good, it’s stable, no game breaking bugs, and runs well.


Gameplay wise, it's mediocre at best. It lacks unit and building variety, and even then it’s way too balanced and pretty much a “text book” RTS unit types without any unique characteristic in term of function, but it’s not a big of a problem, it works just fine overall.

The big problem however is how restrictive this game is, especially on building placement. Squad 22 is already a small scale RTS, with a restrictive terrain, it only makes the game feels smaller it’s not even funny, Like, at times I’ll be like “Ok, I am in a level terrain, there is no unit / building here, there is a building that I build farther than this, JUST TELL ME ONE GOOD REASON WHY I CAN”T BUILD IT HERE!”, base building might seem trivial to players that is not well versed on the world of RTS, but it’s placement hold a crucial starting part of it, and Squad kinda messed it up.

The other problem that I have is the A,I. First, look at it like this: RTS is like a game of rock, paper, scissors. There are 3 major types of play styles Turtle (Rock), Rush (Paper), and Bomb (Scissors), and it’s apparent on a single player campaign in all RTS games, no exception. I mean, they’re A.I, they are not as complex, dynamic, and unpredictable as humans, of course. How do one cover it up? Make an epic scale battles with wide variety of units, which Squad 22 is none of those 2 (I don’t really mean it as a bad thing), or make the A.I more dynamic and adaptive, which sadly is not the case. Playing with the A.I is like having a match of rock, paper, scissors, but the A.I decided to always choose paper and not even consider choosing anything else. They’re basically on paper rusher, sending small waves of enemies over and over again that it becomes repetitive and easy, the difficult thing is because they are constantly spamming them, and I can get overwhelmed at times.

In a more positive note on the gameplay is the research system, you collect canisters to upgrade your research tree. Not something big but it helps with the overall sense of progression. It’s not too much of them that you will be underpowered as the mission progressed, and not too many that it makes you OP in the end. Also it is well thought of, I find it hard to decide which skill that I should spend this canisters on, and each tree offer their own unique playstyle which add some replay value.



Meridian: Squad 22 is an easy game to pick up. Fantastic graphics and sound design is the true standout of this game, a good story do helps this game, but in the end.. the gameplay Is the core of a game, especially strategy game and that’s the problem lies. I won’t say it’s bad, because it is not, its just lacking and restrictive. For a single player game, the A,I is too predictable. Thankfully, the research tree is well done and that helps adding the depth it needed. The gameplay, is way too balanced and “safe”, contrasting the imaginative visual. So, is it worth it then? If you consider yourself a fan of RTS, you should consider it when it’s on sale, and for the ones who don’t, I think it’s a good starting point, if you find something like Supreme Commander, Red Alert 3, Tiberium Wars or any larger scaled, more complex RTS is too “intimidating”, Meridian: Squad 22 will give you a small taste of what you’ll get in those titles.

Steam Squad is a turn-based RPG, set in an alternate history of World War I that puts heavy emphasis on role and AP management. With it’s beautiful steampunk aesthetic and intriguing “What if?” scenario, this little game is able to caught my attention. It’s a fun little game (albeit a little too light) with an active development. With that in mind, I have to change my review to be a more feedback-like than usual.

Graphics

Steam Squad is one of the most visually pleasant turn-based strategy game I’ve ever played for quite some time, it might not have the highest model poly count, but the beautiful steampunk aesthetic, and clean and user friendly UI is really nice to look at. It’s a perfect balance of realism and a steampunk universe, which fits perfectly with its plot and theme. UI puts emphasize on Action Point-related info, and most if not all important info shows on various cursor metadata, like remaining AP, accuracy, and cover (only in beta branch, for the time being).

There’s one noticeable flaw in term of graphic, and that will be the animation, it’s weird, robotic, and clunky. It’s fine when you look it from its standard tactical view, but things got funny when it switch to close-up action cam.

Story

Interesting and intriguing so far. What if the British never lose control of the U.S? What if the Holly Roman Empire is still standing until World War I? Narrative told through letters, news articles, and operation map, which is a really good choice.

Sound

While it’s kinda lacking in quantity when it comes to sound and music, it sounds pretty good when there is one. Great music, fitting ambient, and the highlight are the sound of weapons and vehicles. They really nail the chosen universe with this one, well. How do I put it? If you’re familiar with a steampunk fiction, the loud machinery and guns that doesn’t sound too powerful, but at the same time sound like they are giving a really good punch.

Now the flaw, sort of.. While I don’t mind the quantity of voice in this game, it will be nice to have more of it, especially the soldiers. Like XCOM where it feels like they communicate with each other in battle, getting fired, suppressing, moving, or they are not in an optimal cover, it helps brings the battle livelier.

Gameplay

Steam Squad, like its name implies, is a squad/role-based strategy game rather than stats based. Simple yet solid mechanic that works pretty well. It focused on role assignment, AP management, and unit positioning. Accuracy is based on viewing angle and the optimal weapon range. AP plays a big part where your accuracy (and perhaps damage) is based on how much you put an AP on your attack, and you will be put on overwatch mode if you still have a sufficient amount of AP. Steam Squad offers a freedom of movement, unlike most turn based game that use tile-based mechanic, that works well with the accuracy and damage modifier of this game.

The map layout is pretty well thought, you will be sent into a bunch of missions with various style, terrain, landscape, and overall feel. The size of the map is “just right”, not insanely huge, and not too small and cramped either, making every battle feels tight and intense. And the maps itself are filled with tanks, Anti-tank guns, and machine gun bunkers, which add some depth to the core gameplay.

The mechanic is not without a flaw though. First thing is the lack of unit variety. There is only 3 units, infantry, machine gunner, and mortar gunner, while it works just fine at the current state, it’ll be nice to have some more units like scout/recon, medic, and sniper for instance, to compensate for the absence of perks system. And the second one is… *drum roll* … RNG.. that somehow managed to be more infuriating than XCOM. Well.. do I need to explain more? Eh, I don’t think so. And do I mention it’s built on top of unpredictable AI? Well, at least the AI is seeing a noticeable improvement in this version. While this thing did contribute on tactical and careful play it can be frustrating and somewhat unfair at times.

Conclusion

Steam Squad is an “easy to learn, hard to master” kind of game with a really pleasing and defining art style, and intriguing story. With a simple yet solid mechanic and user friendly UI, its tutorial mission and the official manual is enough to learn the core and logic of the gameplay, while the real challenge is from the tactical gameplay, emphasizing on AP, role, and positioning that demands careful planning. The unpredictable AI should be a plus with a game, but coupled with the RNG, it can be frustrating at times. As for replay value, it’s yet unseen for me, Steam Squad do have a really varied maps, with its own carefully crafted layout, but the lack of unit type somewhat dampens the experience. If you like games like XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Silent Storm, and to an extent Valkyria Chronicles, I say give this game a go, it has a lot of potential, and the fact that it’s still on active development, it’ll get better as time goes.

Thief II: The Metal Age is a 2000 stealth game, developed by the now-defunct Looking Glass Studios, the successor of the widely acclaimed yet underrated Thief The Dark Project (1998), considered by many as the pioneer of modern stealth game, released along other amazing stealth titles such as Tenchu and Metal Gear Solid. Being the least known of those 3 (at least from my point of view), Thief, for me, is the most advanced on how a sneaking game should be, and that’s coming from someone who don’t have nostalgia glasses attached at all.


You take the role of Garrett, the cynical, sarcastic, and somewhat selfish master thief, with his only goal is to steal enough goods to pay his rent. A pretty interesting hero (or antihero) in the get go isn’t he? That very attitude, skill, and notoriety is the source of the problem on both games. You start off by having a couple of disconnected missions, before the real problem takes off. Thief Gold (I’ll just call the first one Thief Gold from now on) has a pacing issues in the first couple of missions, because they’re kind of a long ”introductory” missions. Setting up the Thief universe, Garrett as a character, and it’s gameplay mechanics, and then it becomes a bizarre and intense supernatural horror story.

With all the universe building stuffs is done by the first one, and all the supernatural mumbo-jumbo gone (not completely, but it put in bare minimum). Thief II doesn’t have to suffer with all of these, it has a better pacing, more focused, more intricate dystopian-thriller story, set in an even more well realized steampunk setting. From a “modest” manor to a high security, 6 story towers, from stealing lowly goods to ancient mask, Thief has a unique storytelling, we all are as clueless as Garrett is, all the story elements dropped in the perfect time and place. Take example for Karass, the antagonist, the common people only know him as “The guy who leads The Mechanists Order”, and so does Garrett, and us, the player view him, and he becomes a more threatening figure, and that’s through texts and overall environmental storytelling only.


While Thief Gold is a thieving game turned-supernatural stealth-semi-platformer halfway, The Metal Age is a “thieving simulator” all the way to the end. Thief II is simply a much more refined version of Thief I, minus the annoying zombies, and maze-like location, my biggest gripe with Thief I. Improved graphic, making a more beautiful contrast between light and dark, and improved sound design. All thanks to the amazing “Dark Engine”, an engine designed for Thief, and Thief alone, and yes, I know System Shock 2 use this engine too, but Dark Engine truly shows it’s technical prowess here. It has a unique aesthetic and probably the best “built-in” directional sound design ever. Even until now, I can’t think of any game that has a directional sound so spot on even without the help of a software and hardware

Thief is a stealth game at it’s purest, most immersive form. Your ear, eyes, patience, and common sense is your greatest strength. Thief is a slow, I mean, really slow stealth game, especially on expert where you can’t kill any humans. Stay in the shadow, lean on every corner, creep your way around, and be patient and spatially aware, because once you’re caught, well, you're one dead thief, especially if you play on expert

The interface is minimalistic, there’s your health, your light gem, and inventory. No mini map and quest markers. That help a lot with the immersion, you are lead to appreciate and respect the surrounding area, the unique art style and layout in each level, heightened your spatial awareness.

There's one flaw in this game and that's the AI, they are... inconsistent. Ranging from nearly blind/deaf (or both), to superhuman sense. You might think the AI gets smarter every time you advance to the next level, well.. to an extent yes, but for the most part, it's "unpredictable".


Two defining characteristic of Thief, that Thief II managed to improved, as I said earlier are the sound design and level design. I won’t delve deeper into sound design, because there’s not much to write about. It’s simply amazing, spot on, and overall has a defining "exaggerated" sound design. Let’s focus on level design for now. It’s FANTASTIC, it’s huge, titanic huge, believable, follows architectural logic, and has an "oppressive" atmosphere throughout that fit with the theme very well. Unlike the second half of Thief Gold, when the level goes total ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, in a good way, mostly. In term of level scenery, Thief Gold has more variation, from tomb, prison, cathedral, ruins, and mansions. Thief II levels are all worldly architecture. Only one level that goes to Thief Gold territory and that happens to be my least favorite level. As I said, it’s huge, more complex, but logical complex, that what makes Thief II a more fun experience than Gold. It’s harder to get lost, even if I do it’s easy to get back on track, making the exploration much more enjoyable.

The level verticality is simply astounding, so many paths, some is more obvious than others, some require keen eyes and careful exploration, some requires you to hear conversations and reading notes. It’s so rewarding every time you enter a room, and realize there are 3 or more ways to get in / across. There is a vent that connects that room to the basement, the celling that connects to the attic, there’s always the so obvious ground hallway, or you can move through the interconnected rooms and picking up loots and notes, and oh! There’s a secret passage if you put out that fire, saves my time from creeping out this place! Every route is fun to take on, making every level looks larger than it is. Besides there’s no better feeling when stumble across some loots on the way.


One major flaw in the gaming industry trend nowadays is the fact that a lot of today’s games forget the phrase “Less is more”, the removal of an element hold the same importance, or even greater importance nowadays, as adding one. They take a shotgun approach, throwing everything that looks cool hoping it will sticks. It’s not necessarily bad, but with that design philosophy in mind, a game will become a “Jack of all trades, master of none” and directionless. That’s a plague that need to put in moderation.

Thief in the other hand, is already set out to be a hardcore stealth game from the very start. It’s simple and humble in presentation, and that’s what makes it works in perfect harmony. With a “realistic stealth/thieving game” in mind, Looking Glass can focus on what’s important on a stealth game. The combat is terrible, the gadgets are mostly stealth oriented, you are “forced” to do the stealthy way, but it’s fine, it’s a stealth game after all. It’s not about playstyles in Thief, it’s about the route you take and they deliver.


If I have to pick what’s the most underrated game developer for me, it’ll be a tie between Looking Glass and Black Isle. Though I might choose Looking Glass, because Thief, System Shock, and Ultima Underworld are less known than Black Isle’s Fallout series alone. Without them, there’ll be no Ion Storm (Deus Ex), Irrational (BioShock), and Arkane (Dishonored), it’s no coincidence that all of them are such a hit. So short lived yet so influential, A timeless stealth game Thief II Is. A more than worthy successor of an already near-flawless game, and a perfect game to end an era.

This game definitely deserve the "Test of Time" award

What's the defining factor for a medium of entertainment to be worthy to be called a "classic"? It varies, it greatly varies. The most common ones, the ones that everyone can agree with are those which receive a "universally acclaimed" status, the innovative, genre-defining games, or the highly stylistic ones, though it usually lack on substance. And then there are the arguable "so bad it's good", "niche", "bold", "guilty pleasure" one. And that, everyone, is what embodies the original 1997 Postal. A game that echoes controversy since it's release, panned by critics, yet loved by many. It's bold, it's a niche, sub par quality all across the board, it's certainly a guilty plleasure. It's the ultimate slasher B-movie of video games. Edgy, disturbing, tasteless, and pretty much senseless. But why? Why a game with such "quality" receieved a classic status? It's simply because Postal is self aware, it capitalize it's strength perfectly, it has one solid and clear purpose, that is GOING ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ POSTAL.

Simplicity and straightforward-ness is the key, Postal is a "twin stick isometric mass murdering and maniacally laugh your ass off while you do so" game, and that's it. Compared to the more well known, evenly infamous, satire-laden successor, Postal 2. Postal 1 has a darker, more serious tone. Adapting an arcade style level where you have to kill a certain percentage of total hostile in order to continue (would be a good way to teach kids some math). It's a game that knows it's audience (read: Edgy teens that constanly has a bad day but well aware that burning down their entire neighborhood is illegal). And that's why it holds a special place on the rank of classic video games.

Twenty years and "Mass murdering and laugh your ass off while doing so" games are getting more accepted, more open, mainstream, and "inventive". Games like Postal is considered comical violence this time around, so when the news arise that this little diamond is getting a remake, I can't help but wondering, is it really the right move? Yes, it is!


Postal Redux, to put it simply is basically the entirety of Postal has a major conversion to Unreal Engine 4. It's 1997 Postal as you know it, with much improved graphic and effects, reworked sound design, and having a modern control scheme. Aside minor gameplay tweaks, a new weapon, and the Rampage Mode, Postal, at it's core remain unchanged. Gameplay is more faster paced and more fluid, since the transition from 2D sprites to 3D model and much better aiming are the most welcomed changes. There is also a Rampage mode that turns Postal to a fully arcade game, with high score and kill multiplier that adds some replay value and challenge. I'm glad that RWS know exactly what they are doing, working on what really matters on modern video games, it's the pace and fluidity.

Though, with these overhaul a little bit of things has to be "sacrificed", with the much cleaner, more professionally handled sound design and softer, more HD looks of the game, the creepy and disturbing tone of the original Postal is noticeably toned down, the overall roughness and budget-tier production of the original is the defining characteristic, which is unfortunate.


While I think Postal Redux is one of the most successful remake for me, the game itself didn't age well. As I said earlier, people are no stranger to violent video games as of now, in fact they are getting more open, complex, and inventive. Simplicity is both the strength and weakness of Postal Redux, I won't go to the strengths because I've allready cover that, let's focus on the weakness. Simplicity brings repetitiveness, most of the time. There is simply not enough replay value on Postal Redux, finished the campaign 2 times, get all achievements, and the rest on Rampage mode everytime you have a bad day. "Is it the whole point of Postal?", you ask. Well yes, it is, but with "only" that, I think the price is bit too high. Yes, I know RWS will keep it updated just like they did with Postal 2 (which is awesome), but I still think it's kinda lacking. Opening the gate for mods, at the very least a level editor will be a welcome addition, and MP seems cool.


In conclusion, Postal Redux is a remake, done right. RWS knows what makes Postal good, and don't tinker with it, instead they worked with something that really matters in order to "modernize" a game. Postal Redux is a glorious reminder of the infamouse 1997 classic, brought back to life with all of it's mindless fun-madness. It's a throwback of the simplicity of 90's games, a proof that you just need a clear purpose and capitalize on it to make a fun game, though it did bring lack of replay value, with the absent of mods, for today's standard.