Recent reviews by [GWJ] dejanzie

A rollercoaster of RNG induced rage, exhilerating close calls and one more game: that's balantro!

There's absolutely nothing I can say that hasn't been mentioned before, so if you have any affinity for CRPGs and/or D&D just buy and play!

Brukel's a super short (one hour) walking simulator by a Belgian emigree[en.wikipedia.org] who now teaches Applied Game Design in Miami University (which weirdly is in Oxford, Ohio). He lead the project, and his students made the game.

The game takes place in his families' farm called Brukel, in Geel, Belgium. At first you take photo's of let's say a butter churner, and then an audio clip of his grandmother's explanation on the olden days starts. But then the topic becomes World War II and how his grandmother experienced the Battle of Geel[en.wikipedia.org].

It's a neat little game meant to keep the memory of the maker's family alive, but for me it was an interesting perspective you rarely see in videogames: that of a teenage girl trying to not die during the hardest fought battle of the Belgian liberation.

If you're not bothered by the low production values and you're looking for a short gaming experience, go for it!

Is it fair to compare Tides of Numenara to Planescape: Torment? Of course it is! The Kickstarter got my hard-earned cash because of its inspiration, and the references in ToN to P:T are neither subtle nor rare. But while ToN is not a bad game at all, it fails to live up to its promise.

A lot was said back in the day about how P:T was held back by the D&D franchise, but at least it grounded the universe in somewhat known territory. The Ninth World was sometimes hard to get into for me, maybe a bit too out there for its own good.

The main storyline and side-stories are solid but feel a bit disjointed at times. Maybe that's because Planescape was one big redemption arc with your protagonist as the thread holding your little universe together, while in ToN the link to your castoff is not as direct? Or maybe it's because P:T wove the gameplay and story together in unique ways, and this is not as novel anymore?

While ToN underwhelmed me, that's mostly because P:T is one of my most cherished game memories of all time. And maybe a little bit because some weird and annoying bugs still persist after 4 years. If you're looking for a chunky story-driven RPG, please have at it. But if you're here because you loved Planescape: Torment and are hungry for more, go play Disco: Elysium.

Amazing game, made with so much love and dedication. Has the best turn-based combat system I've ever played with. Although the writing is excellent and genuinely funny at times, the main story arc is a bit convoluted and rife with RPG cliches. I played it co-op all the way through, which I can't recommend enough.